Lightning Talk Tertiary Education Quality Standards Agency Conference 2019

Knowledge as the Key to Connecting TAFE and Higher Education (#48)

Craig C Robertson 1
  1. TAFE Directors Australia, REID, ACT, Australia

For some time there has been concern about the transition of VET qualified graduates into higher education, with universities citing competency based training specifications as a limiting factor in recognition and credit.

This lightening talk will present a proposition to make knowledge requirements of select, high use, VET qualifications transparent to facilitate such recognition and credit.

The talk will draw on the work of Jeanne Gamble of the School of Education of the University of Cape Town, South Africa (From labour market to to labour process: finding a basis for curriculum in TVET) and drawing on extensive commentary on TVET competency based training and its relationship with higher education in England by Dame Alison Wolfe. This commentary will also draw on the findings from the recent Auger report which has explored the relationships in England between further education colleges and universities.

The objective of the quick presentation is to outline the obligations on the formal TVET system to offer curriculum which makes underpinning scientific and procedural knowledge transparent and to a level by which universities can offer credit. The presentation will also suggest approaches universities can take to offer decent credit.  The presentation should also be able to reflect on the feasibility of the revised AQF, due out by that time, to assist with student journeys such as this.

If there were interest in this topic as a panel, I would propose other speakers such as Vicki Thompson of Go8 and Marcia Devlin and Grant Dreher of VU who, respectively, are exploring these issues in respect of pathways and the context of dual sector provision.